The New York Yankees plastered the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night, but they are still facing a bit of trouble in the starting pitching department. Jameson Taillon bounced back after multiple tumultuous performances, tossing 6.0 innings, giving up just one earned run over two hits.
However, starting pitcher Luis Severino is expecting to miss at least two weeks with a shoulder injury he suffered against the Cincinnati Reds on July 13. Severino only pitched two innings before taking himself out of the game, indicating he felt something off when he woke up.
“After the second inning when I was warming up, it was getting worse. I told myself, before something even bigger happens, stop it right here,” he said Wednesday. “Hopefully, it’s not something that will take too much time.”
The Yankees will shut down Severino for two weeks before allowing him to pitch again. Luckily, the team has the All-Star break to utilize as a part of his rehabilitation timetable. That means he would likely only miss a few starts given the lengthy break, but it is still a massive blow to a Yankee team that is losing players left and right due to fatigue.
“We all knew he was struggling a little bit in the second inning,” Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu said. “He was trying to push through it and said he couldn’t go anymore, couldn’t let it loose. Our starters have been doing such a great job rolling out there every five days. If he goes down, hopefully he doesn’t miss too many starts, if any.”
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The Yankees have gotten the best version of Severino coming off serious injuries:
This season, Severino hosts a 3.45 ERA with 9.94 strikeouts per nine, an 81.2% left on base rate, and a 43% ground ball rate. His velocity is back up at 96.1 mph, utilizing a slider, cutter, and changeup.
Opposing hitters are batting just .204 against his fastball and .171 against his slider, which is generating a 42.3% with a WHIFF rate and 22.2% put away percentage. It is safe to say Sevy’s slider is back after multiple years of dealing with injury. Inmpressively, he was been getting better as the season progressed before the injury. In fact, he posted a 3.30 ERA in the month of June, giving up just 11 runs over 30 innings. His first start in July was dominant against the Pittsburgh Pirates, generating 10 ground balls and just four hits with zero earned runs over six innings.
The Yankees will undoubtedly be waiting patiently for his return, but general manager Brian Cashman may make a move at the deadline to help strengthen the rotation for the second half of the year.